Tag Archives: War

In a previous article, I said I would decide whether to support the Government in extending military action against ISIL/Daesh into Syria once I had seen the motion. The motion is here and it is as follows (layout and emphasis my own): That this House notes that ISIL poses a direct threat to the United Kingdom; welcomes United Nations Security Council Resolution 2249 which determines that ISIL constitutes an ‘unprecedented threat to international peace and security‘ and calls on states to […]

Comments Off on Syria: The Prime Minister’s response the Foreign Affairs Select Committee

Last night on Wycombe Sound, I promised to make available the Prime Minister’s response to the Foreign Affairs Committee’s inquiry on Syria. The inquiry produced the report The extension of offensive British military operations to Syria (PDF). It concluded: In the face of a humanitarian and security catastrophe, there is a powerful sense that something must be done in Syria. We agree that it is a key British national interest to defeat ISIL and we consider this to be a necessary goal for […]

I’m grateful to all the constituents who have written to me since the vote to approve in principle military action in Syria, in which I voted against. An overwhelming majority of correspondents have approved of that decision, just as they have also condemned the use of chemical weapons. We all want action to end the violence and outrageous suffering in Syria. General Lord Dannatt, a previous head of the British Army, described the vote as ‘victory for common sense’ and said, “I’m absolutely […]

Anyone reading the BBC news site this morning might think Labour, the party which led us into Iraq, had saved the day. Via BBC News – MPs debate Syria after ministers drop quick vote on action: MPs are set to debate military action in Syria in principle only, after the government dropped plans for a speedy vote on British intervention. A Commons motion to be debated later states that a final vote on action should be held only after UN […]

By convention, the MP for Wycombe leads prayers in All Saints’ Church on Remembrance Day and I feel privileged to be allowed to continue the tradition. These are the prayers I used today: Let us give thanks for those who, in the day of decision, ventured their all for the liberty that we now enjoy. May we strive to maintain freedom in our nation, in Europe and in the world, and to safeguard the peace which was won at such cost. […]

Today, the Commons will debate this motion brought forward by John Baron MP: That this House believes that the use of force against Iran would be wholly counter-productive and would serve only to encourage any development of nuclear weapons; and calls upon the Government to rule out the use of force against Iran and reduce tensions by redoubling diplomatic efforts. It is being met by the following proposed amendment: Line 1, leave out from ‘House’ to end and add ‘supports […]

Let us give thanks for those who, in the day of decision, ventured their all for the liberty that we now enjoy. May we strive to maintain freedom in our nation, in Europe and in the world, and to safeguard the peace which was won at such cost. Today, I will be joining the Mayor of High Wycombe, Cllr Chaudhary Allah Ditta, at the Remembrance Day parade and service at All Saints, where I will lead prayers. In the evening, I […]

Via Libya and the War Powers Act – NYTimes.com, comment on Obama’s conflict with Congress over whether US participation is within his authority: It would be hugely costly — for this country’s credibility, for the future of NATO and for the people of Libya — if Congress were to force President Obama to abandon military operations over Libya. However, Mr. Obama cannot evade his responsibility, under the War Powers Act, to seek Congressional approval to continue the operation. … But the […]

From the Mises store: How Government in the Ancient World Tried to Deal with Modern Problems What a fantastic way to learn ancient history: via the parallels with modern times. H.J. Haskell was a journalist with a huge background in ancient history, and here he does what everyone has wanted done. He details the amazing catalog of government interventions in old Rome that eventually brought the empire down. He shows the spending, the inflating, the attempt to fix prices and […]

Comments Off on “1945-1998” by Isao Hashimoto: a history of nuclear detonations

Via “1945-1998” by Isao Hashimoto, a thought-provoking video which puts a particular context on nuclear detonations and radiation: This piece of work is a bird’s eye view of the history by scaling down a month length of time into one second. No letter is used for equal messaging to all viewers without language barrier. The blinking light, sound and the numbers on the world map show when, where and how many experiments each country have conducted. I created this work […]